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USATSI

Thursday in Los Angeles, the Dodgers officially opened the Shohei Ohtani era with a heavily attended press conference at Dodger Stadium. He revealed the name of his dog, spoke about his elbow surgery, and said he signed with the Dodgers because he wants to win. The $700 million they will pay him over the next 20 years doesn't hurt either.

Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, explained they remained in contact with the Angels throughout the free agency process, and they even went back to the club and gave them a chance to match the Dodgers' offer. Ultimately, the Angels and owner Arte Moreno declined, so Ohtani went to the Dodgers. The Los Angeles Times has the details:

(Ohtani and Balelo) approached the Angels near the end of his free-agent process, giving Ohtani's old team a chance to convince him to stay in Anaheim ... However, Angels owner Arte Moreno wouldn't budge. According to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, Moreno wouldn't match the 10-year, $700-million deal that Ohtani eventually signed with the Dodgers.

It's possible, maybe even probable, Ohtani and Balelo knew Moreno would not match the offer, meaning this last step was nothing more than a courtesy and a formality. Ohtani gets to be the good guy and say he gave the Angels a chance to keep him. Moreno, well, I'm not sure Angels fans hold him in the highest regard at this point anyway. 

"The Angels are special to Shohei," Balelo told reporters (per The Athletic). "He was there for the last six years. Everybody has to understand, we felt that they earned the right to at least have a discussion at the end. And that's what we did. Because, again, it's a place that he really loved to play. He loved the people there, everything. The Angels had every opportunity."

How the Angels will proceed now is unclear. They went 73-89 this past season and that was with Ohtani. Right now they have holes all over the roster and a barren farm system. Taking a step back and rebuilding -- they've signed relievers Adam Cimber, Luis García, and Adam Kolarek to one-year contracts, making them trade deadline chips -- seems like the wisest move long-term.

The Angels don't always do what's best long-term, however, and the fact it's still unclear how they will proceed more than a month into the offseason probably isn't a good sign. Another year in which they're caught between not being good enough to contend but also not horrible enough to rebuild could be on the horizon, and that's the worst place to be.

During Ohtani's six years with the Angels, the club never once made the postseason or even posted a winning record. The Angels have not been to the postseason since 2014 and they have not won a postseason game since 2009.